#seanan mcquire

[onebluebookworm]

February 2024 Book Club Picks

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past by Jennifer Teege: Raised by foster parents, Jennifer Teege had very little knowledge about her past. She had minimal contact with her birth mother, knew that her father was Nigerian, and that her grandmother Ruth committed suicide in 1983, but that was it...until one day she stumbled upon a book in her local library. A book about Amon Goethe, the notorious Nazi commandant, the “butcher of Płaszów", a monster hanged in 1946 for the heinous murders he committed for Hitler's Reich. And in that book, she finds pictures of her grandmother and mother, listed as Goethe's partner and daughter. Everyone wants to know who they are, where they come from. But now Teege must reckon with what we do when we learn that we come from something dark, twisted, and almost too horrible to talk about.

The End of Policing by Alex S. Vitale: Recent years have seen an explosion of protest against police brutality and repression. Among activists, journalists and politicians, the conversation about how to respond and improve policing has focused on accountability, diversity, training, and community relations. Unfortunately, these reforms will not produce results, either alone or in combination. The core of the problem must be addressed: the nature of modern policing itself. Drawing on groundbreaking research from across the world, and covering virtually every area in the increasingly broad range of police work, Alex Vitale demonstrates how law enforcement has come to exacerbate the very problems it is supposed to solve.

Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror by Jordan Peele (editor): Two Freedom riders find themselves stranded on a lonely road in Alabama. A prison warden discovers a horrible secret in the facility where he works. A young girl descends into the bowels of the earth to destroy the creature that killed her parents. Peele collects there stories and more from some of the most gift black horror authors writing today in an anthology sure to thrill, chill, and linger.

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire: When Antoinette "Antsy" Ricci becomes the newest student at Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children, word spreads quickly that she can find anything. When resident irresistible mean girl Laurel tries to strongarm Antsy into finding Laurel's door for her, she's forced to flee with a small group of friends through a series of doors...which eventually lead her back to the Shop of Lost Things. And now that Antsy is back, she intends to make sure Venita and Hudson are keeping their promise

Ejaculate Responsibly: The Conversation We Need to Have About Men and Contraception by Gabrielle Blair: Why are women expected to shoulder the majority of the burden for preventing unwanted pregnancies? With fertility that's harder to track and birth control that's more invasive, more hazardous, and more difficult to obtain, it seems almost counterproductive that the men in the pregnancy equation are expected to take less or even no responsibility in pregnancy prevention than women. In 28 concise arguments, Blair lays out a new way to look at birth control and abortion, with one, simple thesis underlying all of it - men can prevent 100% of unwanted pregnancies if they simply ejaculate responsibly.

[shesamreads]

Starting this one instead of listening to The London Seance Society, because it's due back to Hoopla in a few days. I check things out and then forget about them. Yay ADHD!

I love the plaque, "No solicitation, no visitors, no quests." I should post that at my house.

References I have caught so far:

Peter Pan

Alice in Wonderland

Jack and Jill

The Wizard of Oz

[lena-hills]

Flashbacks to my teaching degree graduate class on YA & Children's Lit and how we were asked to make a list of separate recommended books for boys and books for girls. I objected heavily for several reasons, but especially because the idea that boys can't be expected to read books where girls are the hero is bullshit.

Later in the class we had to do a promo for a book for our theoretical students and I picked the first Tiffany Aching book (a novel connected to the witches listed above). The professor approved and then told me how lovely the gender elements I mentioned were and how empowering the story sounded, and then ended with a reminder about this is why she insists on gendered recommendations.

Specifically,

"Can you really expect a boy to read a book by a woman like Terri Pratchett?"

Shout out to my favorite female author 🤣

Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax of Discworld are the iconic old lady duo of all time, for many reasons. One of those reasons being that Nanny Ogg has had sex with countless men both within and outside marriage, and is still bragging about it as an old lady. And at the same time, Granny Weatherwax is explicitly a virgin (and possibly asexual) for all of her life and is proud of it. And that was both of their choices, and neither of them regret a thing. Sure, they make snide remarks at each other about it, but they make snide remarks at each other about everything. And as an extra bonus Magrat only sleeps with one man after she marries him and that is also considered perfectly alright. That's not even going into the fact that Nanny Ogg is both maternal and horny, that Granny Weatherwax is handsome but was never pretty, and that Magrat is idealistic and femme but also filled with violent rage. I just love them so much.

[the-solar-system52]

NEWS ON THE SKEKGRA PREQUEL COMIC!!

So for those who don't know, BOOM! studios is releasing a comic series titled 'Jim Hensons Presents' which is said to include a collection of short stories from various Jim Henson properties, written and illustrated by various writers and artists. It will have four issues, with the first one releasing in January.

And in a trailer for the series, they revealed that we will get a Dark Crystal story focusing on Skekgra's backstory!

And since I'm incredibly hyperfixated on The Heretic and The Wanderer rn, I've been following the updates for this comic very closely. And, as I expressed in this post, I was very confused as to which issue the Skekgra story will be featured in, since different sources seemed to be implying different things.

But now, I've figured out why there was so much confusion, and the explanation is pretty exciting!

We aren't just getting ONE Skekgra short story, but a longer story spread out between multiple issues!

In an Instagram post by BOOM! studios, they revealed the short stories that will appear in Issue 1.

And as you can see, we got a Dark Crystal story titled 'The Wanderer' (obviously referring to Urgoh) that will be written by Seanan Mcquire and illustrated by Countandra. I assumed that was the Skekgra story.

BUT! The website League of Comic Geeks (as well as a few other websites) put this as the description of Issue 2.

At first, I thought this might've been a mistake, and maybe this description was actually meant for Issue 1 and the website just added it to Issue 2 by mistake.

BUT THEN! This website (https://majorspoilers.com/2024/12/21/boom-studios-for-march-2025/) released the synposis for Issue 3!

The fact that the description actually says 'CONTINUE' confirms that this will be a multi-part story!

This is great news because, although I tend to be as optimistic as possible about this kinda stuff, I was a bit worried that they wouldn't be able to satisfyingly cover Skekgra's backstory in a short story. But now that we have a longer story confirmed, I believe that this comic will do our boys justice!

(Also multiple releases helps to keep the fandom alive for longer.)

The first 'chapter' will probably focus on Urgoh's perspective before he met Skekgra, since its titled 'The Wanderer'.

Although I had my doubts about Issue 2 since it doesn't directly mention Skekgra in its description, cuz its in-between Issue 1 and 3 and is written by the same writer, I'd say it probably does follow on from The Wanderer. And may focus on the other skeksis as well as Skekgra.

Since Issue 3's description refers to Skekgra as 'The Heretic' I wonder if this is the chapter where he gets banished? Or just shown signs of heresy? Or maybe that's just what his character is more commonly known as in the fandom.

We don't have any information regarding the fourth issue, but I think it's likely this issue will contain the finale to the Skekgra arc since its the final issue.

Anyway, I am horrifically excited for this and I will keep you guys updated!

[cleoselene]

lol i just saw that the hotdish post got reblogged by diane duane and seanan mcquire, rip your notes.

I have no idea who this is lol but rip my notes has already happened

my biggest secret is that I think largely any casserole with a cream of mushroom soup base is a nightmare

[daydreamerdrew]

Books finished in February:

Fiction:

The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams, published in 1922 (19 pages)

Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McQuire, published in 2020 (157 pages)

My Dark Vanessa: A Novel by Kate Elizabeth Russell, published in 2020 (369 pages)

Poetry:

Good Bones by Maggie Smith, published in 2017 (84 pages)

[antoniab93-blog]

The Wayward children series

Books number 4,5,6,10,11,12,13,20 and 21 of this year were The Wayward Children Series by Seanan Mcquire. There are nine books currently in this series, with more being released still. This series hurt my heart but it's absolutely beautiful...

Books number 4,5,6,10,11,12,13,20 and 21 of this year were The Wayward Children Series by Seanan Mcquire. There are nine books currently in this series, with more being released still. If you’ve been paying attention to my read count over the reviews I’ve done this year and noticed number’s that are missing, mystery solved, it was this series. A summary attempt In this world there are doors to…

[redskyinthemxrning]

She wasn’t being a traitor to her sister by letting herself trust their siren. She wasn’t betraying the human race by starting to see it as a person. She was doing what scientists always did. She was responding to the available data, and she was letting it tell her where to go. ‘Thank you,’ she signed to the siren--one of the handful of signs they’d been working on for the last few hours. The siren hesitated. Then, with the deliberation of someone who was learning a foreign language, it signed back, ‘You’re welcome.’ Hallie smiled.

Chapter 33; Into the Drowning Deep (by Mira Grant)

[overgrown-estate]

Innistrad: Midnight Hunt - Side Story

The Dance of Undeath

by Seanan McGuire

[brick4brains]

“She was ordinary. She was remarkable. Of such commonplace contradictions are weapons made.”

In An Absent Dream- Seanan McGuire

[peachyteabooks]

2018 top 9 - book edition

[ajmcgeewrites]

We’ve had some lovely pre-fall days recently and I am feeling it. My heart keeps fantasizing about apple picking. There is nothing like the smell of cooked apples on a brisk day with the windows open. Luckily the apples are beginning to come into season, so I imagine I’ll get my wish once this latest heat wave dissipates.

In honor of the upcoming smorgasbord, I wanted to share my favorite apple recipes and couple of delicious fall stories, visual and legible. Fall for me is about creepy, atmospheric thrills and dying leaves, sweaters and spicy honeyed chai. So my fall stories hold a similarly special place in my heart.

Practical Magic – Spiced Apple Cider

You can’t have fall without this most traditional of drinks, and in my house you can’t have fall without the movie Practical Magic. It is my favorite witch movie, which is saying something, and my favorite fall watch despite the fact most of it takes place in the summer. I hope you get to snuggle on the couch with sweater and a warm drink and enjoy your favorite movie soon. I know I’m looking forward to trying this lovely recipe from bon appétit.

  Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day – Stuffed Pumpkins

This novella is, for me, a comforting Thanksgiving ghost tale. It’s about family, found and otherwise, and mirrors and dastardly deeds. I think it goes great with a stuffed pumpkin. Apples are a key to this dish, which is appropriate because the root of the jack-o-lantern tradition lies in apple carvings, pumpkin being a thing that wasn’t really around in Europe until recently. I’m a vegetarian, so my modifier to this recipe from Local Milk is to sub out the gruyere and bacon and replace them with smoked gouda. It goes over swimmingly as my Thanksgiving centerpiece every year.

The Graveyard Book – Apple Pie

You can’t talk about apples without talking about apple pie, and you can’t talk about fall without talking about graveyards and spirits. Happily, The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman takes place almost entirely in a graveyard. This book contains a lot of endings, so I think it’s a good place to talk about dessert. Accordingly, I provide this basic apple pie recipe from Smitten Kitchen. I myself usually end up making Rosemary Apple Pie, which might be more appropriate, but unfortunately that recipe is not available online to share. Also not everyone likes rosemary as much as I do.

It’s the holiday season! Ghosts and crunchy leaves and loveliness await!

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Fall is come! Sort of. We've had some lovely pre-fall days recently and I am feeling it. My heart keeps fantasizing about apple picking.

[cat-boy-tits]

Seanan McGuire has done it again. Now not only does her science fiction predict the future, her urban fantasy does as well. 

My partner started reading this article out loud to me and I was immediately screaming “DOES THE UPLOAD KILL PEOPLE!? BECAUSE THAT’S A SEANAN MCGUIRE BOOK!” Spoilers

It totes kill people

[the-solar-system52]

Happy Dark Crystal day everybody! I bring you some more news on the Skekgra comic!

The BOOM! comics Instagram confirmed the names for the short stories included in Issue #1 of Jim Hensons Presents, and as you can see, we got the name for our Skekgra comic, as well as the confirmation that it will indeed be included in #1, so I should probably get preordering! (if I can find a website where the shipping isn't 5x the amount of the actual comic wtf)

I am still interested to see how long this story will be. There only being 3 stories in the first issue is promising, as well as the fact that Skekgra was heavily featured in the trailer. But I'm not sure if the story will necessarily be long enough to cover Skekgra's entire backstory. If I were to guess, it'll probably just cover Skekgra meeting Urgoh and getting the vision and have a whole "and the rest was history" sorta situation. (We gotta leave something for the fanfic writers.) I am still extremely excited though!

Though something that continues to confuse me is the description of Issue #2 from the website League of Comic Geeks. Since this description mentions the Skeksis, I assumed the Skekgra story would appear in Issue #2, not Issue #1. But the Instagram says differently. I'd be more inclined to trust the offical instagram than this website, especially since they don't link any sort of source of for this description, but it's still weird.

Could we be getting another story in Issue #2 focusing on the Skeksis? After all, the description doesn't mention Skekgra specifically, just the Skeksis. That would be great, but I'm not really sure. Like I said there are no other sources to back this up and the description could very well just be a mistake on the websites part.

Especially since, the description mentions Seanan McQuire as the writer and Countandara as the artist, who also happen to be the writer and artist credited to Skekgra's story in Issue #1! So yes, I'd say its most likely a mistake, but I don't usually read comics, so let me know if I might've missed something.

(Or! An even more bodacious idea. Since the first story is called 'The Wanderer', could we be getting a story from Urgoh's perspective in Issue #1 and the one from Skegra's in Issue #2? It would explain the description and the same writer and artist. But I think that is probably wishful thinking on my part to get TWO Gragoh stories. But like I said, I dunno that much about comics, is it typical for a short story collection to split a single story between two Issues? Idk, just a thought.)

Anyway, see you all January 8th!!!!

[autistic-red-jenny]

Space is scary because it’s vast and empty

The ocean is scary because it’s vast and full

[daydreamerdrew]

excerpt from Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McQuire